Mansion leaves officials embarrassed

Government surveyors who proposed historic status for a rare Italian renaissance mansion were left embarrassed after it turned out the house was a copy of one demolished 20 years ago.

The original mansion in the exclusive Peak district of Hong Kong was torn down in 1990, making the present building less than 20 years old, the South China Morning Post reported yesterday.

"Our staff were looking at its appearance (and thought it was heritage)," monuments office secretary Tom Ming told the paper.